Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Bangladesh working to uproot Islamic militancy-Hasina
01 May 2009 14:24:30 GMT
 Source: Reuters
DHAKA, May 1 (Reuters) - Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Friday her government was working to uproot Islamic militancy to strengthen democracy in the country.

"We will not allow extremists to repeat the carnage (of people) in the name of religion any more," Hasina told a May Day rally organised by the labour wing of her Awami League party.

"Unlike the previous government, we have started uprooting religious militancy to strengthen democracy in the country." Hasina took office on Jan. 6 following a massive win in an election that saw Islamist parties and their allies routed. She vowed to fight all anti-democratic forces to the end and warned against possible attempts to destabilise the country.

The government has been conducting a sweep for members of outlawed Islamist groups, which it suspects may have been involved in a mutiny at the Dhaka headquarters of a paramilitary unit in February.

The February 25-26 mutiny killed nearly 80 people, mostly army officers commanding the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troops, and raised fears of more violence to come.

"We successfully averted a civil war, pursuing peaceful means to tackle the mutiny," Hasina said.

Security forces have seized explosives and detained nearly 200 suspected militants recently, including a top official of a British-based Islamic non-governmental organisation for allegedly funding Islamist militancy in Bangladesh.

Officials say Islamist militants, who have killed dozens of people in Bangladesh in bomb attacks in recent years, were trying to turn the Muslim-majority country of 140 million people into a sharia-based Islamic state.

Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which wants to turn Bangladesh into a sharia-based Islamic state, was blamed for a series of deadly bombings in late 2005.

The radical Islamist movement has been subdued since six top commanders were executed in 2007. But intelligence officials have said they were regrouping and might strike again.

Police seized a huge cache of explosives, grenades and firearms after raiding suspected militant hideouts ahead of parliamentary elections in December.

(Reporting by Nizam Ahmed; Editing by Sugita Katyal)


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

NGO latest

•  Bangladesh and India among worst affected by climate change
Oxfam GB - UK

•  Testimonies: How the downturn is hitting poor men and women
Oxfam GB - UK

•  Bangladesh: Rebuilding lives battered by disaster
IFRC - Switzerland

•  New Report, Survey Urges Stronger Nationality Rights for 12 Million People
Refugees International - USA

•  March 8 is International Women's Day
Concern Worldwide U.S.

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Bangladesh working to uproot Islamic militancy-Hasina

•  INTERVIEW-Bangladesh fears rising seas "devastating"

•  Bangladesh charges NGO chief with funding militants

•  Bangladesh: End Custodial Deaths of Massacre Suspects

•  VIDEO: Bangladesh faces diarrhoea epidemic

MORE >>

AlertNet news is provided by


Related articles

Breaking stories
 Bangladesh working to uproot Islamic militancy-Hasina (1 minute ago)

INTERVIEW-Bangladesh fears rising seas "devastating" (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 Aid groups warn G20 cash may not reach poorest in time (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 Bangladesh and India among worst affected by climate change (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Free guide makes humanitarian mapping simple (1 minute ago)

Maps
 Tropical storm Bijli (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-05-01T133324Z_01_DHA011_RTRIDSP_2_BANGLADESH_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DHA011.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-05-01T133242Z_01_DHA010_RTRIDSP_2_BANGLADESH_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DHA010.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-04-22T133458Z_01_DHA008_RTRIDSP_2_BANGLADESH_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DHA008.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-04-22T133226Z_01_DHA007_RTRIDSP_2_BANGLADESH_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DHA007.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-04-22T132514Z_01_DHA005_RTRIDSP_2_BANGLADESH_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DHA005.htm

A supporter of Bangladesh Awami League shouts slogan during a May day procession at Paltan in Dhaka May 1, 2009. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj (BANGLADESH POLITICS CONFLICT) ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Fri May 1 14:26:55 2009